BRUSSELS, Belgium, CANA:
CARIBBEAN big names Ato Boldon and Merlene Ottey are among the world stars appearing at the Golden League Van Damme Memorial meet today.
Boldon, of Trinidad and Tobago, races in the 100 against world record holder Maurice Greene, and he will contest the 200 metres as well, while Jamaica's Ottey tackles a fierce 100-metre field which includes world leader Marion Jones.
Several other Caribbean runners are at the sixth - of seven - Golden League meeting, including Bahamians Sevatheda Fynes, Debbie Ferguson, Pauline Davis-Thompson, and Eldece Clarke, Letitia Vriesde of Suriname, and Jamaicans Bev McDonald, Tayna Lawrence, Delloreen Ennis-London, Lorraine Graham and Sandie Richards.
Organisers regard the return of superstar Michael Johnson for the 400-metre run as the highlight of the meet.
Boldon, a double Olympic bronze medallist in 1996, is showing good form ahead of next month's Sydney Olympics, with six wins in Europe so far this season, including the double at the Oslo Golden League meeting in July.
He faces Americans Greene, Jon Drummond, Brian Lewis, and 1999 Pan Am Games champion Bernard Williams, in the 100 metres field, which also includes struggling Olympic champion Donovon Bailey.
In the 200 metres, Boldon's main rivals are John Capel of the United States, Brazilian Claudinei da Silva, and Nigerian Francis Obikwelu.
Jones, gearing up for an attempt at five gold medals in Sydney, competes in the 100 metres and the long jump.
The hot women's 100 is divided into two sections, and Jones races in the "A" race with Ottey, Ferguson, Fynes and Lawrence.
The "B" race includes Clarke, McDonald, last year's world championship 200-metre silver medallist, Mary Onyali of Nigeria, and Cuba-born Mexican Liliana Allen.
Ennis-London and Freeman face Olympic favourite Gail Devers in the 100-hurdles, with Nigerian Glory Alozie and Kazakhstan's Olga Shishigina also in the field.
Vriesde, the reigning Pan Am Games champion and 1995 world championship silver-medallist, is in the women's 400 metres with Maria Mutola of Mozambique, and the Czech Republic's Ludmila Formanova.
Olympic champion Marie-Jo Perec has pulled out of the women's 400 metres in a row over appearance fee, leaving world champion Cathy Freeman of Australia, top Mexican Ana Guevara, and the Jamaicans Graham and Richards to fight for the top prize.
World record holder Michael Johnson appears to have little challenge in the men's 400 metres, with Mexican Alejandro Cardenas most in-form rival.
